Most households thinking about a Private Chef start with the cooking. The more useful first question is how often the chef needs to be there. A chef who cooks for the family every day, one who comes in a few days a week and one booked for a holiday or an event are three quite different arrangements, with different costs and a different kind of candidate. Choosing the right one early makes the rest of the brief much easier.
We place Private Chefs for private households, estates and UHNW families in London, the UK and internationally. This is how we would work through the choice.
A full-time Private Chef
A full-time Private Chef runs the kitchen. They plan menus around the family’s routine, preferences and any dietary needs, do the shopping, cook most meals and handle entertaining at home. In a staffed household they work alongside the Butler, House Manager or Housekeeper rather than on their own.
Full-time suits families who eat at home most days, entertain regularly or have dietary requirements that need consistent management. It also suits principals with several residences, where the chef travels with the family and keeps standards the same from one house to the next.
Full-time roles can be live-in or live-out. Live-in is common in country houses and where the family’s hours are irregular; live-out is more usual in London, where the chef keeps set hours and the evenings are covered by agreement.
A part-time Private Chef
A part-time Private Chef works a regular pattern, often two or three days a week. The days are usually built around when the family is at home or entertaining, with meals prepared ahead for the days in between.
Part-time works well for a London household that is often away, a couple who want weekday meals taken care of without a full-time member of staff, or a family whose main residence is elsewhere. It needs a clear agreement on which days, how much cooking ahead is expected and who stocks the kitchen on the days the chef is not there.
A freelance or temporary Private Chef
A freelance or temporary Private Chef is typically booked for a defined period: a summer at a holiday property, Christmas and New Year, a shooting weekend, a series of dinners or cover while a full-time chef is on leave. They arrive, learn the kitchen and the household quickly and leave once the booking ends.
This is the arrangement families turn to for the busiest weeks of the year, for properties used only part of the year and for events that need more than the household’s usual staff.
Moving between arrangements
The arrangement does not have to stay fixed. Families often start with a part-time chef and move to full-time as they spend more of the year at one property, or keep a part-time chef in London and book a freelance chef for the summer house. Where a household already has a full-time chef, a freelance chef can cover holidays and the busiest weeks so the full-time chef is not stretched. Thinking about the whole year, rather than the next few months, usually points to the right mix.
What each arrangement costs
As a guide, current London benchmarks are:
- Full-time live-in Private Chef: £65,000 – £80,000
- Full-time live-out Private Chef: £70,000 – £100,000+
- Regular part-time, a few days per week: £300 – £450 per day
- Freelance or temporary Private Chef: £400 – £600 per day
Senior roles, roles with extensive travel and short-notice or specialist bookings sit higher. The full 2026 salary guide is on our Hire a Private Chef page.
The salary or day rate is only part of the cost. Ingredients are normally paid for separately. For live-in, add the running cost of the accommodation. It is better to agree how the food budget works, and who signs it off, before the first week.
Questions that usually settle it
How many days a week is the family at home and eating in? Most days usually points to full-time; two or three often suits part-time, with meals cooked ahead for the rest of the week.
How often do you entertain, and at what scale? Regular formal dinners usually need a full-time chef, or a freelance chef booked around them.
Is there more than one residence? If the chef needs to travel with the family throughout the year, that usually points to a full-time role.
Is the need seasonal? Summer properties, Christmas and shooting weekends are usually covered by a freelance chef.
Are there dietary requirements that need managing every day? Consistency usually means the same chef, most days.
What to settle before the search
Whichever arrangement you choose, the brief should cover the style of food the family prefers, who the chef cooks for (family, children, staff, guests), the size of events, any dietary or allergy requirements and how the kitchen is run day to day. For live-in roles, the accommodation and time off belong in the contract. For freelance bookings, agree the dates, the number of covers and whether the chef also shops and clears down.
Many households ask for a trial cook for full-time and part-time roles. It shows how a chef works in your kitchen, not just what they can cook.
Hire a Private Chef with 19 London
The right arrangement depends on how the household actually eats, entertains and travels. We can advise on the structure and package as part of the brief, and every Private Chef we introduce has been interviewed in depth and reference-checked.
If you are looking to hire a Private Chef in London, the UK or internationally, contact 19 London. Our Household & Private Staff division will respond promptly.